Test Your Home During National Radon Action Month
Russ Baldwin | Jan 15, 2016 | Comments 0
DENVER – Winter is the perfect time to test your home for radon, according to Chrystine Kelley, radon program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “Testing your home for radon is simple and works best when all your doors and windows are closed,” said Kelley. “That’s why January is a great time to test during National Radon Action Month.”
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas responsible for hundreds of Colorado lung cancer deaths each year. The colorless, odorless, tasteless gas can enter homes through miniscule cracks in the floor or small spaces around utility pipes and accumulates unless properly mitigated. Long-term radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in smokers. More Americans die from lung cancer than any other cancer.
Gov. John Hickenlooper proclaimed January National Radon Awareness Month in Colorado. All Colorado citizens are encouraged to protect their families from the serious health risks associated with radon by testing and reducing any elevated radon levels found in their homes.
Testing is easy and affordable. The department provides coupons for reduced-cost radon test kits. The website also lists contractors, certified by the National Radon Proficiency Program, who install systems to mitigate radon. Colorado residents also can call the state’s Radon Hotline at 1-800-846-3986 or check with their local health department, county extension office or public health nurse for radon information.
(Editor’s Note: Keith Siemsen, Prowers County Land Use Supervisor, noted that there are a limited number of free test kits which are available to the public for the asking. His department will advise residents on the nature of the tests, what radon is, how it occurs, radon mitigation steps for a home and any other pertinent questions they may have on the matter.)
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